Topographic Features on the Largest Land Areas of the Earth
Many conspicuous topographic features on the largest land areas of the Earth. Familiar examples are mountains (including volcanic cones), plateaus, and valleys. (The term landform also can be applied to related features that occur on the floor of the Earth's ocean basins, as, for example, seamounts, mid-oceanic ridges, and submarine canyons.) Such structures are rendered unique by the tectonic mechanisms that generate them and by the climatically controlled denudational systems that modify them through time. The resulting topographic features tend to reflect both the tectonic and the denudational processes involved.
The most dramatic expression of tectonism is mountainous topography, which is either generated along continental margins by collisions between the slablike plates that make up the Earth's lithosphere or formed somewhat farther inland by rifting and faulting. Far more subtle tectonic expressions are manifested by the vast continental regions of limited relief and elevation affected by gentle uplift, subsidence, tilting, and warping. The denudational processes act upon the tectonic "stage set" and are able to modify its features in a degree that reflects which forces are dominant through time. Volcanism as a syn-tectonic phenomenon may modify any landscape by fissure-erupted flood basalts capable of creating regional lava plateaus or by vent eruptions that yield individual volcanoes.
The denudational processes, which involve rock weathering and both erosion and deposition of rock debris, are governed in character by climate, whose variations of heat and moisture create vegetated, desert, or glacial expressions. Most regions have been exposed to repeated changes in climate rather than to a single enduring condition. Climates can change very slowly through continental drift and much more rapidly through variations in such factors as solar radiation.
In most instances, a combination of the foregoing factors is responsible for any given landscape. In a few cases, tectonism, some special combination of denudational effects, or volcanism may control the entire landform suite. Where tectonism exists in the form of orogenic uplift, the high-elevation topography depends on the nature of denudation. In humid or glacial environments whose geomorphic agencies can exploit lithologic variations, the rocks are etched into mountainous relief like that of the Alps or the southern Andes. In arid orogenic settings, the effects of aggradation and planation often result in alluviated intermontane basins that merge with high plateaus interrupted or bordered by mountains such as the central Andes or those of Tibet and Colorado in the western United States.
(“Facts about mountains for kids) (“Mountains - geography games and videos for kids.” ) Mountains influence the weather and climate around them immensely. They break up wind flows, so the wind either has to go above or around the mountains. The air that is forced up becomes cooler, and condenses into rain, snow, fog, or mist. (Simon, Seymour pg. 21) The western sides of mountains are typically much wetter than the eastern side where very little rain falls at all. This is caused by the rain shadow effect. (Simon, Seymour pg. 21) Mountains also have the ability to create rain forests and deserts. They store water and then release the water in the form of rivers that help with growth of vegetation. The rivers can be used as drinking water or they can be harnessed to create electricity. (Simon, Seymour pg. 27) Some mountains are more prominent in the world’s geography than others. There is a mountain on Mars, Olympus Mons, that is the tallest mountain on any planet on this solar system. Olympus Mons is 14 miles tall. (Hartston, William) The longest mountains are the Andes and the highest mountains are the Himalayas. (“Facts about mountains for kids”) ( Morris, Neil pg. 28) The Mid-Ocean Ridge is an underwater mountain chain that stretches 47,000 miles long. Not all of these mountains were formed in the same
This sedimentary rock has hardened over the many years with sand shells, small pebbles, grains of sand and rocks of various sizes. In comparison to our 4.5 billion year old Earth, these sand shells might as well be brand new, when in reality they could be up to 1,000 years old. If the sandstone were to be replaced with calcite it would completely change the subclass of rock, it would then be chemical & organic limestone. The variation in sand stone is due to different rates of deposition and change in patterns of the sediment movement (Mc Knight, p. 384). These tightly compacted varying stones and shells will be weathered away by wind and waves over time and could eventually be reduced to a rock the size of your hand.
and Metamorphic rocks can be found. There are also a lot of crusted plates, and violent
The sharp differences in elevation between the Badwater Basin and the surrounding mountains that include the highest point in the continental US (Mt. Whitney at 14,494 feet) stand as a representation of the regions violent tectonic past. The mountains themselves are considered fault block mountain ranges meaning that they were formed when blocks of rocks were squeezed through the Earth's crust along parallel faults or were loosened from the crust when it separated at a fault. In the valley, both of these methods not only were the cause of the current mountains formation less than four million years ago, but also are causing the mountains to be uplifted while the valley floor drops even further. This phenomenon is one of the reasons why the lowest and highest points in the continental...
...oncerning the way people live and interact in America today. From why California has so many earthquakes with the San Andreas Fault, to the formation of America’s national treasure Yellowstone Park, and even why certain crops are located where they are, it is important to know just how geology affects the United States. There are many different ways how America has changed throughout time, but the evolution in geology is the changing face of America.
The Mid- Atlantic Oceanic Ridge is the best known divergent boundaries. Divergent boundaries are when two plates move apart from one another. The Mid-Atlantic Oceanic Ridge is spreading at an average of 2.5 centimeters a year ("Understanding plate motions [This Dynamic Earth, USGS]", 2014). This underwater mountain range a prime example of seafloor spreading as well. Seafloor spreading creates new oceanic lithosphere when the two plates pull apart and magma is allowed to well up and fill the crack. This also causes underwater mountains to form if the magma flows upwards past the crust (Tarbuck & Lutgens, 2015). It is important to understand how these ranges are created, especially because they can give scientists an idea on when new islands or continents may be formed. It also allows scientists to understand what may cause other plates to diverge from one
Discerning the spatial patterns of biodiversity and understanding their ultimate (why) and proximate (how) causes is very dear to biogeography and is one of the key concepts of Macro ecology. Some places on earth contain more species as compared to others. All species occurring at a given space and time either originated (speciated) there or dispersed and arrived from another place and settled there. Biogeographers try to understand the past and current distributions of species by incorporating historical, evolutionary and ecological factors. Earlier biogeographers or the ‘naturalists’ in their sacred quest to serve ‘the creator’, travelled to various parts of the world and imparted valuable knowledge about the diverse patterns and processes of nature. Linnaeus (1743), on the one hand, hypothesized that early Earth was filled with water except for it’s highest mountain top i.e., Mount Ararat which was known to be the site of paradise and as the sea level dropped the exposed land was colonized by plants and animals that migrated down from high elevational zones of Mount Ararat whereas Willdenow (1805) hypothesized that within each geographical region of the earth, plants and animals were first placed and later survived the great flood on many mountain ranges (Lomolino,2001). Von Humboldt and Darwin in the South American Andes and Wallace Southeast Asian islands noticed the decreasing trend in elevational species richness patterns (McCain and Grytnes, 2010). Later work done by Grinnell (1917), Whittaker (1952), Terborgh (1977, 1985) on elevational species richness became accepted and set a established pattern for all species for more than two decades (McCain and Grytnes, 2010). However current researches on elevational gradients are...
Volcanic plateau: volcanic plateau or "shielded" as a result of outflows lava and accumulation on the main nozzle and the low-rise look for the large area occupied by the rules. And look peaks like convex plateaus with convexity weak and from this it renamed volcanoes Plateau These cones originated from the flow of molten severe lava heat and great liquidity, which has spread over large areas and is this volcanic plateau best representation in the volcanoes of the Hawaiian volcano Mauna Loa Islands, which has a height of 4100 m, which seems more like a spacious dome descend steeper easy and fragile.
...se two tectonic plates generated intense friction and pressure that generated enough heat to melt rocks. The descent of denser oceanic Farallon Plate into the asthenosphere produced magma that was made from basalt or andesite. Which is dark colored rocks with little silica. The buoyant magma pushed through the silica-rich continental crust, partially melting the crust that it moved though, and becoming more granitic in composition. About 100 million years ago, the granitic magma pooled at depths of only 2 to 5 miles beneath the surface (United States of America). The granitic terrain that makes up the Sierra, was once thought to have only local variations but was produced from one large mass of rock. It has been discovered however that hundreds of intrusions caused the variations in the granite that is displayed in Yosemite and in the Sierra Nevada range (Huber).
Later after the sea finally retreated occurred volcanic activity. Mountains rose through laccoliths, which also resemble volcanoes. These laccoliths differ in that they do not erupt. They shifted layers of rock upward in the shape of a dome. This specific piece of geologic morphology occurred at the end of the Cretaceous time. This marked the beginning of the Laramide Orogeny, which was a well-known period of mountain formation in western North America.
...ierra Nevada on west and Mojave Desert on east (Fig.X). The topography of the province is largely characterized by “abrupt changes in elevation,” causing a wide range of elevation values. These include the province’s highest point which lies east of Owens valley, at an elevation of 4,341 meters above sea level, and the lowest point in the United States located in the famous Death Valley basin, 86 meters below sea level (Harden, 130). Throughout the province, many range-front faults are found. Range-front faults are young faults that are formed along the edge of an uplifting mountain range. The fact that most of the range-front faults, found in the basin, are normal faults has led geologists to believe that the repeated vertical motion along the normal fault systems is the major cause of the characteristic basin’s topography. Some of these faults are active faults.
Basalt forms due to the partial melting of the layer of the mantle called the asthenosphere. The asthenosphere is the plastic zone of the mantle beneath the rigid lithosphere. Mantle plumes coming from the mesosphere can cause the asthenosphere to melt with heat or even if pressure decreases, which is called decompression melting (Richard 2011). The magma that forms from this melting is mafic magma that solidifies once it reaches the earth’s surface and cools quickly. The above process mainly occurs mainly during intraplate igneous activity which is the main explanation for volcanic activity that occurs a long distance away from a plate boundary. If the tectonic plate above the mantle plume is moving it can create a string of volcanic activity such as in Hawaii. See Fig 2.
First you might need to know definition of tectonics. It is a theory in geology. The lithosphere of the Earth is divided into a small number of plates which float on and travel independently over the mantle and much of the Earth’s seismic activity occurs at the boundaries of these plates. That is the official definition of Plate tectonics. secondly, this plate covers many parts of continents. plate boundaries don’t go according to Continents boundaries, they make their own boundaries. The North American plat...
Definition: Parts of land that are divided at different levels because of erosion and faulting.
Ever since the beginning on time, Humans believed the ground is solid and immobile. But this is not true whatsoever. The Earth is every-changing and continually in motion. The stability of the Earth is not at all what we think it is. Thinking about the rotational axis of the Earth, and possibly of what the Earth may become at a certain point in time, has a great influence on understanding all aspects of living things, either in the past, present, or future. The Theory of Plate tectonics is accredited to most of the creations of Mountain Ranges, the Centennial drifting Theory, for earthquakes, and volcanic activity. Plate tectonics and mountains also play a big part in the Earth and its geological features.